Solidarity as Strategy

Strengthening Democracy Through Labor

by Kristina Biyad

In DC policy debates about how to defend global democracy—against disinformation, authoritarianism, election interference, and more—one key actor is often overlooked: the worker.

While economic frustration is often cited as a driver of democratic backsliding around the world, labor itself is rarely treated as a source of democratic resilience. This blind spot is mirrored at home, where foreign policy discourse is increasingly disconnected from the lived realities of American workers. In both cases, workers are treated as passive subjects of economic and foreign policy, rather than as agents of democratic change.

That disconnect—between elite discourse and everyday economic realities—isn’t just frustrating. It’s dangerous. Around the world, authoritarian leaders exploit economic discontent to undermine democratic norms, offering “order” in place of justice and dignity. If democracies are to counter that narrative, they must deliver—not just on ideals, but on tangible outcomes. That means recognizing what should already be clear: labor is democracy infrastructure and solidarity with workers is not charity, it is strategy.

This belief guided the Foreign Policy for America Foundation to launch the Intermestic Policy Initiative, which brought us out of the Acela corridor and into conversations with community leaders, labor organizers, and working people across the country. In these conversations, the stakes in the fight for democracy were clear: economic dignity, job security, and control over one’s future. While foreign policy is often framed as distant or abstract, its consequences are anything but—shaping trade, jobs, and local economies. To rebuild democratic trust, we need a foreign policy that reflects these lived realities and communicates them clearly. Centering labor is one way to make that connection tangible.

From the Shop Floor to the State Department

Across the globe, the connection between labor rights and democratic resilience is unmistakable. Whether in São Paulo or Scranton, when workers can organize, strike, and collectively bargain, they gain not just economic rights, but democratic power. Where those rights are denied, democracy is often the next casualty.

In Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s rise from the labor movement helped anchor a politics of inclusion, and unions there continue to serve as a bulwark against democratic erosion. In Poland, the Solidarity movement helped catalyze the fall of an authoritarian government. In places like the Philippines and Belarus, crackdowns on independent unions have signaled wider democratic collapse.

The same pattern is visible in the United States. The decades-long decline in union membership has closely tracked with rising political polarization, civic disengagement, and grievance-based politics. Where workers once found identity and agency in collective action, many now feel alienated—disconnected from institutions and distrustful of democracy itself. This erosion of trust has contributed to the hollowing out of the middle class and opened the door to authoritarian appeals.

These parallels aren’t coincidental. The US has much to learn from labor movements abroad that have served as democratic bulwarks. Yet for years, labor has been sidelined in US foreign policy and democracy assistance strategies. While a growing number of advocates and experts recognize the need to elevate labor as a strategic partner, that recognition has yet to translate into meaningful change. Unions, worker centers, and cooperatives—distinct but complementary forces—offer trusted infrastructure, deep roots in local communities, and a proven capacity to organize collective action. These qualities make them indispensable partners in any serious effort to strengthen or defend democracy at home and abroad.

Rethinking Labor & Democracy Assistance

With much of America’s democracy assistance infrastructure dismantled and labor rights absent from the current administration’s agenda, meaningful progress is unlikely in the short term. Still, this moment offers an opportunity to rethink outdated models and lay the groundwork for a future foreign policy that treats labor as a strategic partner.

The old playbook cannot meet the scale of the democratic crisis we now face. What’s needed is a reimagined framework that centers workers as agents of democratic renewal.

To begin laying that foundation, the foreign policy community should:

• Make labor rights a core benchmark of democratic health. US democracy and development programs should make labor rights assessments—freedom of association, collective bargaining, and workplace safety— essential indicators of democratic strength, on par with free and fair elections or judicial independence.

• Move trade policy beyond protection to promotion. International Labor Organization (ILO) standards should be baseline requirements in trade and aid agreements. These agreements must actively promote the right to organize, fair wages, and safe working conditions—not just in principle, but in practice.

• Elevate labor diplomacy. US embassies should regularly report on labor conditions and engage directly with independent unions and worker organizations. Each embassy should have a labor attaché who is empowered with the political backing and resources needed to be a credible advocate for worker rights and democratic values.

• Resource the Solidarity Center as a strategic partner. As the AFL-CIO’s global democracy-building arm, the Solidarity Center, is uniquely positioned to support international labor movements and build democratic capacity from the ground up. The federal government should fund it and engage it not merely as an implementer, but as a co-architect of strategy.

Taking Action Without Washington

A worker-centered democracy agenda won’t be built by traditional policy institutions in Washington alone – especially under an administration hostile to international labor rights and democratic values. Real progress will require investment in grassroots infrastructure and a broader coalition of actors stepping up: from funders and local governments to labor networks and civil society organizations. In the absence of meaningful federal leadership, this is a growing opportunity–and responsibility – for non-governmental actors to drive this work forward. That includes:

• Philanthropy should invest in movement infrastructure. That means moving beyond elite institutions and think tanks to invest directly in labor organizers and community-based movements who are shaping civic engagement, building trust, and holding the line against authoritarianism–in communities, both in the US and abroad, that Washington too often overlooks.

• Local governments can reinforce labor rights globally. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have adopted ethical procurement standards that reward respect for labor rights in global supply chains. Other cities are building international partnerships on labor and climate—models that can be expanded to support worker protections and democratic values.

• Support worker-to-worker diplomacy. From Mexican auto workers securing contracts with US union support to supply chain campaigns linking Global South workers with American labor allies, these transnational relationships help workers share strategies, resist repression, and uphold democratic norms when governments fall short. These relationships should be treated as serious diplomatic channels.

We are living through a global democratic crisis. The path forward won’t be paved by elites or the policy papers they write. It will be built from the ground up, by workers organizing for power, dignity, and justice. For those working to protect democracy—whether through foreign policy, philanthropy, or grassroots advocacy—the charge is clear: stop treating labor as an afterthought and start treating it as a strategic partner.

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Kristina Biyad is the Senior Director for Outreach at Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), where she launched the Intermestic Policy Initiative. She is focused on reimagining US foreign policy to better reflect the people it serves—centering the voices of working people and marginalized communities.